This is The Human Sphere's individual contributor blog, which supports the premise that being our best self will support our life success, including our careers. We put a twist on the popular phrase, "There is no I in team". But...there is a "me" In team. Strong "Mes" create strong teams. Are you a strong me? The companion app - The 1% Edge Portable Coach

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Thursday, September 15, 2016

Are The Little Things Undermining Your Best?

I have to say I am one lucky chick! I really enjoy every aspect of my life and on top of that my business is having a record breaking year, again.And yet, all that "enjoying' has had an interesting development. I am becoming tired and unmotivated -- which for me is not common. In fact it's surprising. Why? Because I'm having fun -- living the life of my dreams. How could that result in being tired and unmotivated? The other day I actually asked myself, "What's going on with me?"I took a step back and reviewed the past several quarters, looking for patterns, events, any clues to help me diagnose my current state. Several items stood out that are challenging me to do some course corrections. In summarizing these, I see these as the subtleties that can undermined your productivity, health, happiness -- being at your best. The message here is it's not always the "big things" serving as saboteurs, but can be the nagging accumulation of little things -- the less obvious.1. SleepI know this sounds crazy but I love what I do so much, I have a hard time going to sleep in a timely fashion. I will stay up reading, writing, watching informational Youtube videos, looking for interesting articles on Twitter. I really enjoy learning and gaining more knowledge to help add more value to the work I do my clients. It's all very satisfying!Yet, this pattern of not getting enough sleep is now catching up with me. I've decided to establish a cut off time and create a wind down ritual which includes meditation. I've learned -- sleep matters. (and I guess so much so Arianne Huffington wrote a whole book about it - The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time )So ultimately this comes down to discipline and decision-making...2 Decision-makingI've noticed for a variety of reasons, I periodically made decisions that weren't the best and in some cases compromised what I needed or what was best/healthy for me. This insight reminded me of a quote by Stephen Covey, "I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions."These kinds of decisions in succession can have a cumulative effect and they have. I looked at those decisions in particular and the surrounding circumstances. One thing I discovered, I did not assert and express my needs because I wasn't clear on the line where more activity becomes too much activity...and that leads to number 3.3. Clarity On Boundaries, Express Them & Stick to Them

Clarity became the call of the hour. I needed to be crystal clear on what comprised "too much" physically and energetically (to me energetically includes emotions and spirit) and then express those boundaries when needed. That expression is the prelude to enabling good decision-making and subsequently helps me stick to them.

I know for myself and my coaching clients lack of clarity results in poor decision-making.

These 3 discoveries, I've determined, are essential to creating a solid foundation in to support the joy of my personal and professional life. They as a trio also create a cascading effect.

One final note -- of these 3 areas I think decision-making is the most challenging and subtle. If this is true for you, here is a useful exercise: Track your decision-making daily, in a targeted area.

An example for me, related to the above findings, would be meeting personal needs. If this is true for you and in tracking this, you discover you have trouble making decisions in your own best interest, ask why, explore this and get to the root of the difficulty. If you don't, making decisions against yourself will keep repeating itself.

In reality, how or the style in which we make decisions is habitual. Creating healthy decision-making habits generate a fulfilling, happy life. Decisions are the building blocks of life.